A documentary capturing first-person accounts of the Holodomor, the man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932-1933 that starved millions to death, is now available to view in full on the Minnesota PBS affiliate’s website after its broadcast premiere earlier this year. Holodomor: Minnesota Memories of Genocide in Ukraine is the product of four years of collaboration between parishioners of several Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, including St. Michael’s and St. George’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, St. Constantine Ukrainian Catholic Church, and St. Katherine Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and is directed by Zina Poletz Gutmanis.
The almost 30-minute film explores how the memories of the Holodomor have been preserved and passed down through families, communities, and generations in Minnesota. In documenting these stories, the project highlights both the trauma of genocide and the resilience of Ukrainian communities who continue to preserve their identity despite centuries of repression.
“I wanted to make the story of the Holodomor personal and relatable for American audiences,” Gutmanis said.
The film connects past and present by drawing parallels between the Holodomor and Russia’s current full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That link is made visible through the participation of Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation in Minnesota medical centers, underscoring the continued struggle for Ukraine’s survival.
“The resilience of the Ukrainian spirit amazes me. After centuries of oppression, repression, conquest, and genocide, it’s amazing to me that Ukraine and its people are still here,” Gutmanis said.
Another theme running through the film is the role of the global Ukrainian community in preserving the memory of the Holodomor and advocating for support for Ukraine, both during the famine and in today’s war.
Zina Poletz Gutmanis is a first-generation Ukrainian American and a descendant herself of Holodomor survivors. Her interest in making a documentary about this genocidal famine was piqued when she chaired a local commemoration event in Minneapolis for the Ukrainian community. It was only then that she realized how many survivors she had lived among as a child, their stories never to be told. This is her first film.
For more background, see the University of Minnesota’s coverage of the project: Breaking the Silence: A New Documentary Grapples with the Holodomor’s Legacy in Minnesota.